Easter Road finale a happy twist of fate for departing Celtic skipper
OUTGOING Celtic captain Scott Brown has been left bemused by a quirk of the calendar ahead of his final game for the Glasgow club against his former club Hibs.
The 35-year-old, who has agreed a move to Pittodrie once his contract expires, will skipper the club one last time at Easter Road, the venue where his professional career began all those years ago.
Brown admits he is feeling somewhat melancholic about his final outing in green-andwhite but added that facing off against his old side will make his last game that little bit more special.
“It’s sad,” he told Sky Sports. “I’ve had 14 fantastic years here and I’ve loved every single moment of it. I’ve made so many friends, seen so many players come in, so many players leave the club, won so many trophies and had so many great occasions.
“It’s coming down to the end of it. I’ve got one game left. When I was at Hibs, my last game was against Celtic and now it’s vice-versa. It’s good, it’s a special occasion because Hibs meant so much to me as well as Celtic. It’s one of those occasions I’m going to relish and always remember – that’s for sure.
“I’ve had so many great times over my career so far and I’ve got a couple of years left in me. Let’s hope I’ve got a few more happy memories to come.”
Hibs hosted Celtic at Easter Road on that day back in May 2007, with Brown marking his final appearance for the Leith club in spectacular fashion with a diving header.
The combative midfielder grinned as he recollected his last goal for Hibs before revealing that the header led to a frosty reception in the home dressing room at Parkhead a month or two later.
“I did, I scored a header,” he recalled. “I played against Darren O’Dea, Aiden McGeady and I remember Darren O’Dea saying to me: ‘We’ll see who the big man is in six weeks’ time when you come into our dressing room.’
“I was thinking, ‘That’s what I want to hear!’ I walked into the dressing room and he was like, ‘Come here big man, give
us a big cuddle.’ And to be fair we’re great mates now. We’re both players that want to win and that’s what being at Celtic is all about. ”
Meanwhile, Brown revealed a “nightmare” confrontation with Neil Lennon when he first signed for Celtic provided him with all the confidence he needed to become a first-team regular at Parkhead.
Then manager Gordon Strachan recruited Brown from Hibs in the summer of 2007, just as Lennon was preparing to depart for Nottingham Forest and a crack at the English Championship.
Brown and Lennon had crossed swords on the pitch on plenty of occasions before the former completed a move to Celtic Park – with the club’s current outgoing skipper revealing that Lennon had some words of encouragement when he found himself leaving Glasgow’s east end.
Brown explained: “That day before I signed, I was sitting in the manager’s office and Gordon said, ‘Right, I need to go and do the press. There’s some food in the fridge, help yourself to a snack’. I went to go and sit down and Lenny walks in.
“This was my worst nightmare. Me and him had been fighting for the last five years and I thought we didn’t have a lot in common. He sat down and
said, ‘Let’s talk’. I said ‘okay’. So he started talking about his love for the club and how much it all means to him. How much Celtic, the fans, taking part of training sessions and being captain of the club means to him.
“I was sitting there thinking, ‘This guy is great! Where’s this going?’ and he kept talking me up as well. He told me I would love it at Celtic. He said: ‘This club is made for you. You’re a winner, you’re a fighter. You’ll run through walls for people’.
“At that moment I knew it was for me, even though I had offers to go to other clubs. I knew speaking to Gordon and then speaking to Neil and I knew I’d made the right decision. This what was I was all about.
“Lenny said he was sad to leave but that one day he hoped he would be back. What do you know, nine months later Gordon brings him back in. Me and Lenny hit it off really well and we’ve continued that bond all the way through – even when he was manager the first time. He left and we kept in touch the whole time.
“It was those small occasions that mean so much to myself and what he did for my football career at the start. He gave me that belief in myself and took the time to sit down and chat with me about Celtic when he didn’t have to.”